IIT Bombay protests intensified on Sunday after Mumbai Police detained the parents of 20-year-old BTech student Sahil Wakode along with students inside the Powai campus, with the parents later taken to Azad Maidan, according to Mid-Day’s report. The demonstrations are demanding accountability and action following Sahil’s death in his hostel room on September 18.
Ravindra and Sonali Wakode, who had been on hunger strike at Azad Maidan for more than 15 days, visited the IIT Bombay campus for the first time since their son’s death. They were accompanied by a delegation and joined groups including the All India Students’ Association, the All India Students’ Federation and the All India Independent Scheduled Castes Association.
Police had earlier detained protesters gathered outside the institute’s main gate around noon. Students said at least 16 students from inside the campus were taken away in a police bus. They also said those detained could be taken to a police station farther from Powai, although the destination of the students and the circumstances surrounding their detention were not immediately clear.
The protests centre on the circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death and the family’s demand for a fair investigation. Ravindra Wakode has filed a first information report invoking provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and abetment to suicide. The FIR names IIT Bombay director and Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, while the allegations have not been established.
The family and protesters have demanded the immediate arrest of the two individuals named in the FIR. They have also sought a meeting with the head of IIT Bombay’s Board of Governors. The parents have claimed that the institute’s investigative committee has not contacted them.
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad and MLA Aslam Shaikh were also present on the campus on Sunday. Earlier, students said the parents and a delegation had entered the institute and were seated at the Justice Corner near the main gate. The institute’s director was also seen on campus, according to students.
The detentions add a policing dimension to a dispute that has so far focused on the investigation into a student’s death and the accountability of a leading public institution. The available report does not establish the legal grounds for the detentions or whether formal cases were registered against the students and the Wakode family members.
Further details about the detained students, the parents’ status and the police action were awaited at the time of the report. The family’s demands for a meeting with the Board of Governors and clarity on the institute’s internal investigation remain central to the ongoing protest.
